After Saudi Arabia, it is now the turn of Kuwait in the Arabian Gulf to arrest 'illegal' foreign residents and pack them off to their respective countries in a move to “nationalise” its employment sector, an act emanating from the inevitability created for the rulers by the Arab Spring revolutions.
Reports from Kuwait and Indians who were deported from there say that a minimum of 10,000 expatriates, of whom over 4,000 are Indians, have been caught by the police in anytime-anywhere raids in the past two months and put in prisons to be deported to their respective countries. As many as 160 Indians landed in Delhi from Kuwait in this way last Friday.
The extensive arrests of 'illegal' foreigners and their expulsion — even in the name of minor offences like jumping a red traffic signal — are part of a determined move to 'Kuwaitise' the job scene of that country, being implemented under strict orders from Kuwait's Minister for Social Affairs and labour Thikra al-Rashidi, reports say.
The move is to expel a million expatriates from Kuwait over the next ten years at a rate of 100,000 per annum. Though most of those who are being and would be affected by the move are foreigners staying in Kuwait under family and home-servant visas, those working in Government departments are also going to be hit eventually.
“It started in Saudi Arabia under the Nitaqat scheme. But the Saudis were considerate of and thankful to the people who had once built their cities for them and gave a three-month relief to get their papers in order or to pack their bags. But in Kuwait, you don't even get the time to change clothes,” said one of the ten Keralites who were part of the 160-men group that reached Delhi.
Though the Kuwaiti Internal Security department is saying that the objective of the move is to bring criminals to book, eradicate crime, catch illegal foreign residents and to cut the number of unskilled workers, reports reaching from there say that this is part of an extensive programme to 'Kuwaitise' the job scene.
It is said that foreigners who complete 30 years of service in Government sector by June 30 would be dismissed though it could seriously affect the functioning of departments where majority of the employees are foreigners.
One of the sectors where Indians, particularly Keralites, are going to be hit by this move is Health. “There are about 150,000 Keralites in Kuwait who are living in the fear of getting caught any moment. The Kuwaiti police catch them without issuing any warning. Even women, living as dependents of expatriate workers, are being caught. Once caught, you are led straight to the prison and from there to the airport,” said a Malayalee returnee.
The coming days will see stricter rules regarding issuance of family visas in Kuwait. There is a reported plan to hike the income limit for this from the present 250 dinars to 500 dinars. Over 2,60,000 of the 6,50,000 Indians in Kuwait stay there on family visas and most of them are engaged in work on the basis of arrangements with the sponsors. Half of them are Keralites.
Most of the thousands of 'illegal foreign residents' were held in the past two months in searches in six Kuwaiti governorates as part of a bid to bring down the number of expatriates, who constitute 24 lakh, in Kuwait. The raids had begun on the roads but this soon extended to workplaces and residences, returnees said.
“Nothing can be done about this because the Kuwaiti Government has the authority to implement laws of its choice. Still, they could have given the expatriates some time like the Saudis had done. But what is more pitiable is that the Indian Embassy still has no information on how many have been caught or deported,” said Paul Jacob of Thrissur, employed in Kuwait.